Article
Innovation in Healthcare Has Always Followed Disruption
It’s Time Behavioral Health to Rise Up.: Carolyn Bradfield, April 2025
You can’t turn on a Sunday morning talk show or watch the news without getting smacked in the face with HHS funding cuts, the impending price increases from tariffs or the steep drop in the stock market. While everyone is wringing their hands, protesting or thinking about burning a Tesla, Donna Brazile, former DNC Chair, on This Week with George Stephanopoulos shared that we can’t wait for someone to rescue us.
"We have to innovate our way out of this," Donna Brazile, former DNC Chair.
The Pandemic Pushed Healthcare to Innovate Overnight
We faced one of the nation’s biggest economic and healthcare crisis from the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the greatest stress tests healthcare has ever faced. It pushed providers, policymakers, and entrepreneurs to move faster than ever before — not just to solve the crisis, but to rethink what care could look like.
- Telehealth usage surged more than 38x from pre-pandemic levels, fueled by relaxed regulations and increased reimbursement.
- Zoom became the “go to” for AA, NA and Alanon support groups.
- Demand for accessible, on-demand mental health support skyrocketed with the emergence of BetterHelp, Headspace, Calm, Woebot, and Spring Health
- AI-powered chatbots, mood tracking, and meditation apps became part of daily wellness
- Health systems adopted wearables and IoT devices to monitor patients from home.
- Clinics and treatment centers combined in-person services with virtual follow-up
But Behavioral Health Has Lagged Behind
Despite an urgent need but also a massive opportunity, innovation in behavioral health has fallen far behind medical healthcare. Here’s what’s held us back:
Low Reimbursement
Reimbursement has been low and inconsistent, especially for digital tools
Privacy Rules
Privacy rules are stricter (HIPAA + 42 CFR Part 2), limiting data flow
Fragmented Care
Care is fragmented — with behavioral health siloed from medical systems
Resistance to Tech
Clinician resistance to tech is real in many corners of the field
Outdated Infrastructure
Infrastructure is outdated, especially in underfunded community settings
Underfunded Startups
Investor funding has traditionally overlooked behavioral startups
The result? 85% relapse rates after addiction treatment with little shared visibility into what happens after discharge and little support for families. And not to mention, that the cost of treatment discourages the vast majority of those that need it to sit on the sidelines.
We Don’t Have to Accept This. We Can Build Better
As we did during the pandemic, behavioral health can't afford to sit back and wait until the financial plug is pulled. We must innovate now — in the face of what is clearly a disrupted environment.
- Build smart platforms that support recovery long after discharge
- Add tools that bring families, data, and providers into one shared circle of care
- Create systems that track outcomes and reduce relapse — not just provide access
- Raise awareness among underserved populations that they have other options for treatment.
- Deliver education to primary care physicians to help them direct people to the care they need.
When the pandemic hit, our technology platform powered virtual conferences and events at scale.Now, with behavioral health funding under pressure, we’re readying that same tech to help providers track outcomes, support families in recovery, and expand access to care.
Final Thoughts
Let’s stop waiting for things to go back to normal and build something better than normal — something smarter, stronger, and more human. Think about how much our healthcare system progressed as a result of the Pandemic and what an opportunity we have to move forward if we are just willing to think outside the box, innovate, and find more automated and efficient ways to get things done.
About the Author
Carolyn Bradfield is the CEO of Pathroot Health, where she helps treatment providers adopt value-based care and tech-enabled recovery support. A seasoned entrepreneur, she has founded four successful technology companies in conferencing, collaboration, and cloud-based platforms. Her passion for long-term recovery solutions is deeply personal—shaped by the struggles of her husband and daughter, which led her to create Phoenix Outdoor, a pioneering treatment program for adolescents and families. Today, she’s focused on equipping providers with tools to track outcomes, engage alumni and families, and use data-driven insights to strengthen recovery and reduce relapse.
See how Pathroot Health can help you shift to a value-based care solution. Get in touch ».
